Sasuke's Agony
by animequeen78
Summary: Sasuke is trying to make amends for what he had done. But Orochimaru tries to tempt him back onto the path of evil. Does Sasuke's will to make amends triumph, or will all be lost. He must find the Tree of Healing.


Sasuke was trapped in his second phase curse form. _Now Sakura won't accept me anymore. _Sakura looked at Sasuke, confused about if this was really him or not. "S-Sasuke? Is that you?" Sakura said. She sobbed, thinking _Oh my god, Sasuke, what has Orochimaru done to you?_ Sasuke went over to see if Sakura needed to be consoled. She stared at him, as if she was terrified of him. "Sakura, it's me. I'm here." Sasuke said. Orochimaru seethed, "You still betray me, even though I made your curse permanent? You're wasting your feelings on a pathetic woman!" "Being your student, I realized that when I left the Leaf Village, I lost my greatest treasure: my friends, or what's left of them now, especially the girl I love: Sakura. Without them, I'm nothing." Sasuke said.

Then he went back to Sakura, who was staring at him with shock now. Sasuke apologized, "I'm sorry for leaving the village. Now I realized that I'm nothing without you guys." "I forgive you, Sasuke. I love you too, no matter what." Sakura said. Then they kissed tenderly. "Fine then! We'll see how loyal you are to your so-called "friends" when I kill her!" Orochimaru said, charging for an attack towards Sakura. Sasuke got in the way and received the full brunt of it. "Sasuke!" Sakura cried out as she saw the sword cut through his chest. "Sakura! Get out of here! It's too dangerous!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura refused, "I'm not leaving this lair without you, Sasuke!" Then she embraced him. Tears streamed down her face.

_Sakura... Why must you still care about me... after all the wrong I've done to you?_ Sasuke thought. Then he felt something surge through him, like an electrical surge, but without harm. Instead, this surge of energy made him stronger.

IN HIS MIND

"What is this feeling? It's like I've gotten stronger than a while ago." Sasuke said. Then a familiar voice came into his head: the voice of his best friend, Naruto. It said, "That's true strength, the strength you get when you protect someone precious to you. Tell me, who's the most precious person to you, after the death of your family?" "Sakura and Naruto. Sakura treated me better than I deserve, instead of like some beautiful, living sculpture to look at. Naruto was the only kid that ever dared to try and surpass me. He didn't back down when we sparred, just because I was from a famous clan. He treated me like a normal person. It made me happy." Sasuke responded. "Then those are the greatest friends you'll ever have in your life." The voice said. Sasuke said, "But I betrayed those two. How can I ever face them again?" "You can. Sakura forgave you, didn't she? So will Naruto, once he sees you've joined their side again." The voice said. Then the voice dissipated.

BACK IN REALITY

Sasuke went back to his senses, and fought his hardest to protect the ones he cared about. Then he KO'd Orochimaru and fled with Sakura in his arm.

He met up with the others after the raid of Orochimaru's mansion. The mission was a success. The mansion was in pieces. "Sasuke! You're alive! And so's Sakura!" Naruto shouted. Then he saw the agony in their eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Orochimaru made the curse permanent. Now Sasuke's trapped in this form. I wish there was something we could do to help him. "There is. There is a tree called the Tree of Healing. It can reverse any ailment that plagues a person. If we get there, We can cure him." Shizuko said. Kakashi agreed with her, "Let's go." Then they went.

Later, Ino looked at Sasuke and was disgusted. "You can have him. I don't want him anymore. He's hideous." She said, really rude. "That's what's wrong with you. You treat me like some kind of object to be admired before the curse changed my form. Any guy you lose interest, you toss onto Sakura like hand-me-downs. At least she treats them kindly. She treated me better than I deserve, even when I betrayed her. I always loved her since childhood, because she was so kind. So don't treat her like she's pathetic." Ino felt a sting of guilt.

They encountered a snake, which bit Sakura in the arm. Then Sasuke grabbed the snake and snapped it in two out of anger. Then he looked at Sakura and he examined her arm. "I'm so sorry." Sasuke said. Sakura responded, "Don't be. It's not your fault. I'll be okay." Then they went onward.

Further down the road, Sakura started faltering in her walking and collapsed to the ground. "Sakura!" Sasuke cried out. He felt her forehead. "She has a fever! Sakura, are you all right? Sakura, speak to me! Come on!" He cried. She mumbled incoherently in her unconsciousness. Kakashi said, "Calm down, Sasuke. We'll see what can be done." Tears welled up in Sasuke's eyes as he grew fearful of the death of his beloved cherry blossom.

They took her to a shaman nearby. She was a kindly old woman. "Oh, dear, what happened to the girl on your back?" She asked. Sasuke replied, "She was bitten by a poisonous snake, and we didn't know that it was." She motioned them to go inside. She gave them a vial of water. "This is the last of the dew from the Tree of Healing. The tree itself has died. In order to obtain more of this magical dew, you must plant a new tree. I cannot take the sapling myself to the tree's pedestal. I am too old and tired to do so. You younger ones must do it." The old shaman said. "Sasuke... you could use that to get back to normal. Don't worry about me... I don't want you to suffer." Sakura said, weakly. Sasuke refused, "I can't. You need this more than I do. If you die, I will suffer even more." Then he administered the serum to Sakura and rested her head on his lap and stroked her. His heart was heavy with guilt for having betrayed the only girl who ever loved him. He weeped ever so heavily.


End file.
